Education Service Central Articles and Advice

How to tile

Guide on how to tile. This comprehensive video guide to DIY tiling will help you with your home tiling project. Read more...

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Power bills set to soar on Carbon Tax: Abbott

The leader of the Federal Opposition, Tony Abbott, says a NSW proposal to raise electricity prices by an average of 16 per cent shows why the carbon tax should be axed. Given that it is highly unlikely that Gillard will pull out of the Carbon Tax at this late stage, we explore ways that you can reduce your power bills and miminise the impact of the carbon tax on your household bills. Read more...

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Kids and hot water - are they safe?

Do you know what the maximum temperature should be for your hot water? Are you aware of the risks children are faced with when the water's too hot? Ensure your home is kidsafe - read this article for advice on how to avoid scalds and burns and for first aid information. Read more...

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Preparing for Bushfire Season

It's that time of year again. The sun's come out, the fire bans are in place and the question arises - What's your bushfire plan? All houses are at risk of fire and it's important to protect against it and know what to do in the case of one. Read more...

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What are Continents?

Ok, you might think you know what a continent is... But do you really? This funny (yet strangely informative) video asks the question 'What are continents?' and by the end of it I'm not too sure myself! Read more...

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Daylight Savings Explained

Ahh daylight savings... while we might love the extra daylight you bring, you sure can mess with our heads and the clocks of the world. This great little video about daylight savings is both humorous and informative. Read more...

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How will a carbon tax affect the building industry?

Today we explore how the introduction of a carbon tax could change the building industry. You wouldn’t normally associate building or renovating a home with big polluters such as the coal and oil industries. However, when you scratch under the surface of the new carbon tax you see that it will undoubtedly further increase the costs of building or renovating a home, as well as running a trades business. Read more...

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Why we built a mobile website

This week Service Central launched our brand new mobile site (m.servicecentral.com.au). All of the features of Service Central’s main website are now available on your mobile phone ready for you to use from anywhere in Australia. Read more...

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Best mobile sites

A collection of the best mobile sites from around the world. These are sites that have been designed and built specifically for smartphones. Read more...

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New formula that helps you evaluate the value of your home improvements!

It's not often that home renovations turn scientific. When it comes to understanding whether the improvement adds value to your home or not, we've often relied on common sense and our own ways of rationalising the renovation. But Dr David Holmes, a professor from Manchester Metropolitan University, wasn't satisfied with a gut feeling, a rationalisation, or even common sense. He devised a formula to empower homeowners to make 'rational and informed decisions' about the value that improvements will add to your home. Read more...

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Guide to finding quality service businesses online

Customers round the world use different methods to find service businesses like plumbers, builders, carpenters, home cleaners etc. Traditionally, people have found businesses and called them directly based on a newspaper advert in the classified section, or a Yellow Pages ad. How is Service Central's directory different? Read more...

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What kinds of renders are there?

Lots of different brands of render, but there are three main types. Cement, acrylic and solid plastering. Read more...

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Thinking about apprenticeships - does your business have space for an apprentice?

Here at Service Central we're always conscious of skills shortages, and in an ideal world supply would meet demand and there would be enough jobs to go around for all businesses, and enough businesses to fulfil all jobs. There are certain gaps, often around skilled trades, and one of the ways to fill that gap is to increase training in that area and add more skills to the pipeline. Read more...

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Friends in the Trades Industry?

If you have friends or family in the trades industry, you can also let them know that we've launched our blog series for trades businesses. Read more...

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Why does Australia need feed-in tariffs?

Like most other renewable energy sources, Solar Panels have excellent benefits. Not only do they reduce atmospheric pollution they also have many socio-economic benefits in the form of increased employment and technology development. So why incentivise local energy generation instead of setting up solar panels in unpopulated areas? Read more...

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Training courses for tradies: Sustainable trades

The Victorian Climate Change White Paper released last month included many plans for reducing the impact of climate change. One of the items included in that white paper was that the Victorian Government wanted to provide a central, authoritative source of knowledge about climate change and sustainability. They've done this with the launch of the Climate Communities website. Read more...

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Why Word of Mouse is replacing Word of Mouth: Social media for trades businesses

Businesses have for years clamoured for Word of Mouth to help grow their businesses, today's modern businesses are pursuing Word of Mouse instead. How can social media help your trades business? Read more...

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What's more energy efficient? a full fridge or an empty fridge?

This debate has been raging round the internet for a while now, so I thought I might have a look into it and see what’s the most efficient way to run your fridge. Given that energy saving and food wastage are two of the hot topics (if you’ll excuse the pun) of the moment, I think that the results might just surprise you! Read more...

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Best DIY books: Top 5 DIY books to choose from

Service Central has extensive articles featuring DIY guides, advice, pricing guides, news articles and more, but sometimes a good comprehensive book is needed. Here are the Top 5 DIY books. Read more...

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The Victorian Climate Change white paper - what does it all mean for us?

The Victorian governments action plan for climate change is comprehensive. We've examined it from various perspectives - what it means for individuals, business, and industry. Read more...

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What does the Climate Change Action Plan mean for individuals?

The plan feels like a good combination of providing incentives and education about smart environmental choices. Here's the highlights of how the Climate Change Action plan affects us. Read more...

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The best type of ovens to be a Masterchef: Gas, Electric, Multifunction or fan ovens

Your choice of oven can make or break your budding career as a Masterchef. Knowing the ins and outs of each type of oven helps you to compensate for the quirks when using someone else's oven, but also helps you pick the best type for you! Read more...

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